2023-07-14 10:23:04
He will never change. At 57, Laurent Blanc, who was world champion just 25 years ago, will always have the image of this elegant player, rather attracted by technique rather than physique. In an interview given to The Team, the Lyon coach returned to his first season synonymous with the end of the Aulas era. “Everyone was surprised, but we know what Mr. Aulas has done for this club,” he slips.
Bosz’s successor in October 2022, Laurent Blanc looks back on his first steps at OL. Often painful. “You have the feeling that you won’t make it. There is too much work, players not in the spirit of the club. And when you don’t have fun anymore, neither do the players… There was a deleterious atmosphere. “The former PSG coach even admits having thought of stopping everything: “As I said sincerely to my staff: I will leave if we don’t change things”.
It was ultimately the World Cup and then the winter transfer window that saved the Lyonnais season. “We made strong choices. There were good youngsters but they weren’t playing. There were confirmed guys but maybe they didn’t have the necessary motivation to be in Lyon. So we tried to please everyone, to include the young people and to lend the old ones. We made the right choices in January and I thank management for following me. “And it took them well:” We finished third in the return phase of L 1. We also had fun, players and staff alike…”
Sanctioned by the DNCG on July 4, OL were imposed measures to control the wage bill. A setback for the French technician: “We did not expect this decision from the DNCG but we will see how it ends with the appeal. What saddens me is that we are wasting time”. From there, to blame the new management team? “You have to adapt and trust the people in place. But to succeed next year, you have to start with a great team. »
Regarding recruitment and his collaboration with the new interim executive chairman, Santiago Cucci, Laurent Blanc sets the scene: “If a guy tells me I have the data, I want this or that, it means that he imposes on you recruitment. Soon, the coaches will undergo this, and there, sincerely, I will have left before. And to clarify: “The coach is not the guy who has to decide everything but he brings his thoughts. Then there is the club’s strategy. I’m not against trading but if you only recruit for trading, you’ll be missing something. »
On the evolution of Ligue 1, Laurent Blanc notes that “there has been a clear progression, it is in the athletic field. Some teams can raise their physical level with incredible races, 121 km covered for Lens, it’s huge. “However, he is convinced that football will remain a matter of intelligence: “I always think that even if we run faster, longer, the technically strong guy who understands football will always be ahead. The problem is that we have fewer and fewer players like that in general. »
Not resistant to progress, Laurent Blanc does not however want to give all the importance to data. “The data does not give the player’s state of mind. Football remains a collective sport. If the guy is very good, that’s fine, but if he has a shitty mindset, he can fuck you up. In this case, what do you do? Do you take it? »
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